Heart's Word
by Sky Rider
Summary: This is a sequel to Dangerous Dance, a story I made previously. This fic mainly has to do with the relationship between Starfire&Robin, telling what happened after the mansion accident. Has added snitch of Beast Boy&Raven pairing. More action later in fic
1. Because of You

_Teen Titans – Heart's Word  
  
Because of You –  
  
A/N: This fan fic is the sequel to Dangerous Dance. Heart's Word explains how Robin and Starfire are getting along after the incident of the mansion collapsing on them, along with an added snitch of Beast Boy and Raven getting a few parts together. I hope I don't let all the people down who have been waiting to read this. Please enjoy, and I'll talk to you again soon._  
  
Robin dodged a kick from the criminal he was fighting. His body still ached a little from all the movement he had to make just three weeks after getting out of the ruble from the mansion. As he found out, he had been sick with a bad case of dust pneumonia for the entire time he was buried alive with Starfire. When this news reached Starfire, however, he had his work cut out for him in order to convince her that it wasn't her fault. He eventually succeeded, but in the end, this little bit of effort had completely exhausted him—physically and emotionally. Now, though, he was mostly back to normal. His responses to moves were a bit slower than usual, still, but all in all, he was physically, his old self again.  
  
It had been a relief to him when he finally put his mask back on. To him, it made the world easier to look at that way. It was only within the last week that the other Teen Titans had let him get out of bed, and even more recently that they allowed him to start training and fighting again, despite his constant protests to let him do what he normally did.  
  
That was how he ended up here, on this roof top, fighting with a criminal. The rest of the team was nearby, each with two of their own criminals to fight. Not quite back to his normal kick-butt self, the rest of the team had made him take only one of the criminals. What they didn't take into account, however, was the fact that Robin was fighting the most dangerous of them all. Robin would have been glad for this if he wasn't so bellow normal in his reaction time, now.  
  
Robin picked himself off the surface of the roof, recovering from a kick his opponent had landed by having his foot collide with Robin's jaw. He vaguely saw Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg making their way in his direction before he launched toward his opponent. As he did so, he dangerously miscalculated the distance between himself, his opponent, and the edge of the roof. He would have landed just on the edge, accept for the fact that the person he was trying to defeat, grabbed a hold of his collar and dragged him forward. This made Robin completely miss the ledge on the roof, sending him in a free fall towards the ground so many feet below, along with his opponent.  
  
Seeing this, Starfire ran the remaining length between where she was and the ledge Robin had fallen off of. She stopped just short of the edge of the roof. "Robin!" She shouted in instinctive terror as she leaned over the side to look. Her frightened shout echoed off of everything and came back to her. Fear was coursing through ever part of her as she searched with her eyes, bellow, for a sign that he had made a recovery before he hit the ground. She saw nothing. Her heart continued to beat faster as she looked at the building across from the one she was on. Nothing.  
  
Suddenly a sound like metal gently falling on cement drew her attention to the part of the roof next to her. It too had a ledge and led off the roof. All the Titan's attention shifted to that part of the roof as a gloved hand was thrust over the top, in their direction. They watched as another gloved hand reached over the top of the ledge. There was a small grunt of effort as Robin appeared before them, his gloved hands lifting him over the ledge. Starfire rushed over to him as he put his feet firmly back on the roof. He was slouched over on his hands and knees and out-of-breath, but he was still very much alive. The other Teen Titans took a few steps towards him, but none of them got very close other than Starfire.  
  
Starfire had gotten to her hands and knees as well. Her right hand was resting on his left shoulder and she was asking him lots of questions, fussing over every square inch of him. After a few minutes of this, Robin had finally had enough and said sternly, brushing her hand away, "I'm fine, Star." He got to his feet without another glance at her or the other Teen Titans and walked past them. He needed some time to himself. He was glad for his mask, otherwise he would have seen the concerned, almost hurt expression on Starfire's face, and that was something that would cut into his heart, scarring it for years to come. 

* * *

Robin picked up a flat rock and skipped it across the water. He was sitting in front of the water, a good many feet away from the Titan Tower. It wasn't the fact that everyone was so concerned for his well-being...most of all Starfire. It was the fact that this had been going on for a long time now—ever since he had gotten out of the ruble of the mansion. Since then, none of the Teen Titans had let him do anything that required a lot of thinking or physical effort. **_'I'm just sick of being babied!'_** Robin thought in frustration, throwing another rock on the water and watching it skip out of view. **_'It's not like I was on my death bed or anything! In any normal circumstances, they would have known that I would be right back up on the roof. Now, I have to prove that I'm good enough to do anything at all... I used to be the one who gave the orders!'_** He stood up suddenly in anger and threw a rock at the water with so much force, it plunged in instead of skipping.  
  
He turned on his heel and stomped angrily away from the water, walking away from the Titan Tower. After a minute of two, he broke into a run, not really caring where he was going. After about half a mile, however, he came to a stop, out of breath. He was out of shape, he hadn't been able to start training again until the beginning of this week. By the time he had come to a stop, however, most of his anger had left him. He found himself turning around and looking back at the Titan Tower. He sighed, all his frustration leaving him, as he started to think about Starfire. **_'Maybe...just maybe, I can put up with it all. They're just doing all that for my own good...after all.'_** Robin shrugged, closing his eyes for a moment. He hadn't realized it before because he was angry and frustrated, but the fight and his own fit of anger had exhausted him. He didn't have the endurance that he used to have. His sickness had taken that from him. To get it back, was the challenge. He sighed again and started walking slowly back to the Titan Tower. Every step making him feel more and more tired.  
  
When he finally reached the Titan Tower, he made he way to the living room. When he got to the couch, he was grateful that everyone were in their rooms. He didn't want any of them to fuss over how bad or tired he looked, or to question his earlier actions. He took one look at the couch and crashed. His body met a warm arrangement of soft pillows, and all of his previous thoughts and worries left him as his mind drifted into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

When Robin awoke, the room was dark and quiet except for the soft fluorescent glow and soft sounds coming from the TV in front of him. He looked at the TV for a moment, watching a game show that was on, then frowned. He couldn't remember turning on the TV before he fell asleep, and seeing as how it was dark...he couldn't see why any of the Teen Titans would leave it on. He suddenly became aware that his neck was inclined upward. The impersistent fragrance of freshly cut violets found its way to his nose, making him want to close his eyes and go right back to sleep. He resisted this urge, however, and looked up at the person who had his head in their lap. There was Starfire; she was looking at the TV with a bored expression on his face. At this, Robin couldn't help but smile. When Starfire, slowly turned her gaze away from the TV, towards him, however, he quickly closed his eyes again. For some reason, he did want her to see him awake. Perhaps, instinctively, he thought...that if she saw him awake...she would leave; or maybe it was because he wished to actually know what it was she did when he was asleep. Perhaps, he just wanted to know what she was comfortable doing with him while he was not conscious to judge her, not like he would, but she didn't know that.  
  
Starfire slowly put a hand down, so that it rested on his chest for a moment. Robin could feel her hand quiver slightly as it pulled away. He felt the strong urge to reach up and grab it, to make it keep touching him, but he did not. After a few minutes of nothing happening, Robin sighed mentally and opened his eyes again. Starfire looked down again at this moment, and he found himself eye to eye with her. Startled, she immediately reached down and helped him get into a sitting position, next to her.  
  
"What time is it?" Robin asked automatically.  
  
"Around three in the morning," Starfire answered, turning uncomfortably back to the TV. Robin could tell, even by looking at her from the side, that she was very tired. Robin stared guiltily at his feet for a moment, before something from an earlier time started to nag at him, making him feel even more guilty.  
  
"Star," Robin said at last, breaking through the soft voices that came from the TV. Starfire looked at him and frowned when she saw him looking so uncomfortably at his feet. "About yesterday...on the mission," he said, hesitantly, "...Star, I'm sorry about the way I acted. I know you...can't help the fact that you worry about what happens to other people. That's what makes you such a good person. It's just that...I'm a little frustrated at the moment by my own limitations. I just wanted to say...I'm sorry for taking it out on you."  
  
Robin was waiting for Starfire to say that she didn't forgive him; to say that he wasn't worth her time or effort if he was going to act the way he had. He knew it wasn't in Starfire's nature to be mean or cruel, but he also knew that he deserved whatever harsh words he got from Starfire. He waited, staring at his feet, hoping to soften the blow just a little. To his surprise, however, he felt an arm tighten itself around his shoulders. He looked up at Starfire, for an explanation. He found himself coming eye to eye again with the smiling girl. "I don't blame you, Robin," She said softly. Robin became just barely aware that Starfire's hand had found it way around his neck, "If it were me, I would have done the same thing."  
  
Robin nodded nervously, feeling Starfire's arm release his shoulders, taking off his mask before resting her hand on his arm. His brown eyes glittered softly in the dim light. A sudden urge to kiss Starfire, came over him, just as he realized that she was leaning closer to him. Instinctively, he leaned closer as well, tilting his head slightly. He could feel his hand instinctively, reach out and wrap gently around the side of Starfire's neck, as his other hand reached for the TV remote finding the "power" button and pushing it, turning the TV off. The strong scent of violets made his eyes close as his lips finally touched together with Starfire's. Every previous worry and thought left him. He was here, in this moment, and that was all that mattered. After a long couple of seconds, he released her, feeling her release him as well, and opened his eyes to look at her. She was smiling tiredly, but looked happy all the same. There was silence for a moment, his eyes looking at her lovingly.  
  
After a few moments of this intimate eye contact, Robin smiled, reaching up to brush away a strand of her hair that had fallen over her face. "It's late," he finally said, standing up slowly, "and you haven't gotten much sleep. You should get some." His eyes looked down at her, with a silent care in them.  
  
Starfire nodded, standing as well, "So, should you."  
  
Robin shook his head, "No, I've already had enough sleep to get me through the rest of today. Besides, I need to repair the rest of my equipment that was damaged when the mansion exploded."  
  
Starfire smiled silently, taking his hand and putting something in it before she turned to walk back to her room. When she disappeared in her room, Robin looked down at what she had put into his hand. He blushed when he saw his mask folded neatly in his palm. Then turning towards the hallway, he made his way back to his own room to repair the rest of his equipment.

* * *

Raven and Cyborg, strangely enough, were the first ones to wake up the next morning. Cyborg had disappeared into the gym, and Raven was meditating in her room, leaving the tower fairly empty. It was not long before Beast Boy was up, however, and the house held the noise that was considered so normal for the Titan Tower. Beast Boy had resorted to cooking tofu in the kitchen by the time Starfire had finally woken up. It was almost noon now, and the Titan Tower was still pretty quiet. That was, at least, until Beast Boy figured out that Robin and Starfire had been the last ones that hadn't appeared in the Titan Tower for some reason.  
  
"So...what happened last night between you and Robin?" Beast Boy asked just after he had swallowed an entire package size of tofu. Starfire had just made her way into the kitchen looking very groggy. She looked in Beast Boy's direction with a tired expression, "I do not know what you are referring to, Beast Boy."  
  
"You know...the reason you both are the last ones to get up. I mean, usually I would understand why Robin isn't up yet. He's still not over the bug yet, is he? But, he was asleep when we went to bed last night. So...what happened?"  
  
"Nothing happened, Beast Boy," Starfire answered sleepily, taking some orange juice out of the fridge. She started to walk away from the fridge when she looked down at the container she was holding, and stared at it for a moment. Slowly she shuffled back to the fridge and shoved the orange juice back in, wondering why she had grabbed something when she didn't even know how it tasted.  
  
"You're—in—love," Beast Boy started singing behind her.  
  
Starfire blushed a deep crimson, but kept her eyes on the fridge. "I am not. I may like him as more than a friend, but no...I am not in-love." Starfire knew better than anyone else that this was an outright lie, but she couldn't tell Beast Boy that. He would never quit bothering her about it.  
  
"No? Then why did you just grab Robin's favorite drink in the morning, just now?" Beast Boy teased, he chuckled slightly at the idea.  
  
Starfire opened her mouth to protest, but just sighed, grabbing something that looked good, out or the fridge and closing its door. There was no denying it...he was right. The one time he could make her life miserable beyond belief, Beast Boy was right. "You win, Beast Boy," Starfire said unsmilingly, "I do love him."  
  
Beast Boy had a sudden look like Christmas had come six months early. He jumped off his chair at the table and ran down the hall, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Starfire loves Robin! Starfire loves Robin!"  
  
Starfire dropped what she was previously holding, onto the table and ran after him screaming, "Beast Boy! Stop! Beast Boy! I wish for you to stop! Beast Boy!"  
  
It was about this time that Robin, who had fallen asleep in a chair in his room, opened his door just in time to see Starfire take flight past his room. He blinked and looked down the hall to see Beast Boy with a wide smile on his face, shouting something he couldn't make out, due to someone else shouting something. By the sound of it all, Beast Boy and Starfire had gotten into a really big fight, most likely starting by Beast Boy's teasing, judging by the look on his face. What he couldn't understand is why Starfire seemed to be so angry. Usually, she enjoyed Beast Boy's company and his jokes. What could have made her so angry this time?  
  
When Starfire started to land, however, he could read what she was going to do, having seen her accomplish it on so many criminals before. It was then that he decided it was time to intervene. He got to her, just as she started running forward. The way he saw it...he had two options: either he would have to jump in front of her and take the blow for Beast Boy—she would never forgive herself for this and he knew it—or he would have to tackle her. So, reluctantly, he chose to tackle her. When he got close enough, he put his arms around her waist and threw his weight on her, forcing her to meet the floor. As they hit the floor, he vaguely saw Beast Boy run past them, back to the kitchen, he was laughing again.  
  
It was a good moment before either of them started to move. Robin rolled off Starfire, allowing her to get up if she wished. Within seconds, Starfire was on her feet, and started yelling again, "You should have let me kick him...it's the least he deserved!" Starfire was just yelling blindly, not really seeing anything.  
  
Robin pulled himself into a sitting position and stared at Starfire for a moment, "Star..." he said, mostly out of surprise and shock.  
  
"—for all his yelling!" Her anger seemed to melt away when she noticed Robin on the floor. "Robin!" She strode forward and put herself into a kneeling position, checking to make sure he was okay. Fussing over every inch of him, once again.  
  
Robin caught one of her hands, jus as it was about to tilt his neck to the side to see if he was injured there. This made Starfire look at his face, allowing him to look into her eyes. It was clear that she had a very guilty look on her face and she was about ready to cry. Robin let go of her hand and rose to his feet. Starfire did the same, finally putting her hands down to her side.  
  
"Have I hurt you?" She asked.  
  
"No," Robin answered, shaking his head, "but you almost did a number on Beast Boy.**_ I_** was the one who tackled you."  
  
"I know," Starfire nodded. Then after a moment she quickly put in, "Excuse me...I must apologize to Beast Boy." She turn quickly away from Robin and started in the other direction, but Robin was too quick. He firmly put a hand on her shoulder, which kept her from walking away. "No, Star...I don't think that you need to apologize to Beast Boy just yet." He gently spun her back around to look at him, but when he saw her face, he wished that he had just let her go to where ever it was she wanted to go. Tears were falling from her big green eyes, making his heart ache worse than it ever had. He looked at her for a moment before gently putting his arms around her and allowing her to bury her face in his shirt. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't anyone else in the Titan Tower at that moment...just him and Starfire.


	2. When Two Worlds Collide

_Teen Titans – Heart's Word  
  
When Two Worlds Collide –  
  
A/N: In this chapter, more of a romantic spin is put on the relationship between Beast Boy and Raven, although, not very much. It also sets up some for some stuff to happen in the next chapter.  
_  
Robin walked into the Titan Tower with the rest of the Teen Titans. He was making his wrist go in a circular motion.  
  
"I told you to take it easy on that last guy, man," Cyborg said, just a little concerned for his friend, "You could have easily finished him off with a nice kick."  
  
"Yeah," Robin said, sounding slightly irritated, "you were right this time. I seri—"  
  
"What do you mean 'this time?'" Cyborg asked suspiciously, "I'm always right, man."  
  
Robin looked in Cyborg's direction and was glaring silently at him for a moment, making Beast Boy shift his weight from one foot to the other. After the brief moment however, Robin gave Cyborg a very sarcastic look and said, over doing the irritation in his voice, "Yeah...haha..." Robin fell back into a nearby chair and gave a more serious look, "Anyway, as I was saying...I seriously think I might have broken my hand." Seeing the concerned look cross Starfire's face, he immediately forced himself to ignore the pain that was radiating off of this small area of his body, forcing a grin to come over his face. "I'm only joking, Starfire."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes in irritation when Robin had made this feeble attempt to comfort the emotional, green-eyed girl. As far as she was concerned, the whole mushy business between Robin and Starfire had been going on for far too long. True, Robin was getting back to his old self for the most part, but he was so emotionally attached to Starfire now that he would never be completely the same as he used to be, ever again. As for Starfire, her emotions were usually uncontrolled, but ever since the collapsed mansion incident, trapping her and Robin together, she had been a nervous wreck, constantly hoping that nothing would ever happen to Robin. Raven had guessed that the way she, Cyborg, and Beast Boy had found them down there, Robin leaning on Starfire's chest, was about the way it had been for the entire time they were down there...but she couldn't be sure. She didn't feel like asking, however, thinking that this might trap her into a long conversation with Starfire about the emotional girl's current love life. Instead of watching another sickening episode of "Devoted Girlfriend Fusses About Her Boyfriend," she decided to retreat to her room which was so peaceful and unchaotic, compared with the rest of the Titan Tower these days.  
  
Raven had just begun to chant the words that would allow her the peacefulness of meditation, when someone walked into her room. Silently dreading Starfire's voice she kept her eyes closed. But when the person in her room spoke, it wasn't Starfire's voice...or even Robin's voice that reached her ears.  
  
"Raven?" Beast Boy called softly.  
  
Confusion raced through Raven's mind as to why Beast Boy would be in her room when Starfire was not there as well. She opened her eyes and looked around.  
  
"Beast Boy?" She asked, trying not to sound too confident about knowing his intentions. As an automatic reaction to his presence there, she asked curiously, "What are you doing in here? I would have thought that you would be out there enjoying the love ship between Starfire and Robin."  
  
Beast Boy nodded seriously, "It was fun to watch...for a while. But I miss the old Robin and Starfire. Instead, they both seem to be completely wrapped up in each other. I can't even get Starfire to laugh much anymore because she's so worried about Robin. As for Robin's commando personality...it's still there...but it's softer now. I liked it when he had more of the 'no one can break me' attitude, you know."  
  
Raven nodded wearily, "I know what you're talking about."  
  
"Now..." Beast Boy continued, "All anyone has to do to see him break inside is watch him while Starfire cries in front of him. It's like watching him die slowly...it bad. It's like a soap opera that's gone bad to the core, with time."  
  
Raven smiled involuntarily at this completely accurate description of something she had been seeing and disgusted by for days now, coming from someone else...particularly, someone that was as much of a joker as Beast Boy was. Beast Boy, even as frustrated as he was, couldn't help but smile too at making Raven feel at all moved by his irritated humor.  
  
"So, what was the reason you retreated into here...other than, it's your room?" Beast Boy asked.  
  
"Same as yours," Raven answered fairly swiftly.  
  
Beast Boy smiled wide for a moment, then seeing her look away, back at the window, he got the uncomfortable feeling that he was not very welcome in her room.  
  
"Err...Raven, if you want me too...I'll leave," Beast Boy said, thinking that she would almost certainly say something like, _**"Please...get out."  
**_  
However, she did not. She simply shook her head, then looked at him, beginning hesitantly, "No...I...it's actually been a bit...lonely...without Starfire being in here all the time."  
  
Beast Boy knew that it was taking her a great deal of courage to admit that she wanted him to stay. Knowing this, he decided not to make any move to jest her in any way...not the way he usually would. Knowing just a tiny bit of Raven's personality, he viewed her sudden openness to him as a huge step up in there relationship, hoping it might turn into a nice friendship...like the one he usually had with Starfire. All the same, that didn't stop his curiosity, "Lonely? I would have thought that you liked being by yourself..." As soon as he had said this, he wished that he had said it differently or not at all. To him...it sounded almost accusing.  
  
Raven, however, seemed not to notice the way he said it, "I like quiet..." she hesitated, "but I've also grown accustomed to noise. Without a little of it now and then, the world seems a bit empty."  
  
Beast Boy cocked his head slightly, then straightened it again, "Huh...well, I've always loved noise. Whenever its quiet, like when Starfire and Robin were missing, it gives me the creeps. It reminds me of a cemetery," He let off a slight shutter to indicate his discomfort by the idea.  
  
"I never thought about it that way," Raven said quietly.  
  
There was silence for a moment. "Well," Beast Boy said, breaking the stillness, "It sounds like Robin and Starfire are done out there."  
  
Raven nods, "Good." Getting up from her cross-legged position in the air, she made her way across the room towards the door. She stopped momentarily next to Beast Boy, just enough to lean over and kiss him on the cheek. Smiling, she silently made her way out of the room, leaving a startled and blushing Beast Boy to stand in it for a moment.

* * *

It was dark and the Teen Tower was quiet, as were its occupants, when Robin left his room and went out to the lake. He couldn't sleep, besides...he needed some time to clear his head. He left his Teen Titan cloths and his mask on a chair in his room and had instead, resorted to shorts and a T- shirt. A light breeze greeted him in the summer night air as he sat down near the lake that was so nearby to the Titan Tower. All of the Teen Titans had gone there at sometime just to get away from reality...or just to get away from each other. He took a smooth, round, gray rock in his palm and stared at it, as if completely fascinated by it. He frowned, as what Cyborg had said that afternoon came back to him, **_'Ever since the mansion incident, you and Starfire have been inseparable. Now, I'm the last one who would complain, but, Robin, you've gone soft. Starfire is always so worried about you that she hasn't been able to do her Titan duties right. She's already changed so much...don't you change too. Raven won't be able to take your place as a leader forever. It wears her down. The Robin I know, wouldn't let anyone else do his job for him. He would step up to the plate even if he was on his last lifeline. You've changed...and not for the better. You need to sort this thing out with Starfire and get back to business.'_**  
  
Robin stared at the rock for a minute, in silence. "Have a really gone that soft?" Robin asked himself aloud. Then, as if to tell a friend something he began talking, "When I saw Starfire that night...without my mask on, it was like every bad thought and feeling had left me. It was, as if, the world had suddenly stopped becoming so evil. I guess...I've been living in the fantasy world ever since. I really don't know why, but she, makes me feel safe somehow. Not only that...I always feel the need to make sure that she's safe, that no one hurts her," He paused, "But, maybe, it's me...who is hurting her the most...by changing who she is..." He choked down a sudden bout of tears that threatened to engulf him. He stared at the rock for another second before allowing it to drop from his hand. With a swift motion, both of his hands covered his face, his elbows resting on his knees. He was fighting so hard to keep himself from releasing the tears that were trying to come over him, but in the end he lost. He started sobbing...letting go of everything emotion that had taken him since he had walked into the mansion over three weeks ago. He wept for the innocence in the world, for the people who died in that mansion, for being off guard when he was on a mission, and most of all...for the thought of hurting Starfire. It was a thought so painful to him that he would have never let himself think it, had no one suggested it.  
  
His weeping continued for a long moment until, suddenly, an arm circled around Robin's back, pressing him to something cool and soft. "No, Robin," a soft voice said in his ear, "You could never harm me."  
  
He opened his glassy eyes and put his hands down, to see something like purple cloth in his vision. The scent of violets founds it was to his nose, and he knew instantly who was holding him. "Starfire?" He said, his voice rather hitched from the tears still threatening to come over him. He could feel her hold tighten a little, just to let him know he was correct.  
  
"How did you know I was here?" Robin asked after a moment.  
  
"I couldn't sleep either," Starfire explained, "I was in the living room when you came out of your room, so I followed you down here. I'm so sorry if you feel like I intruded."  
  
Robin was silent for a moment, taking in the fact that she had heard everything. Then finally he shook it off, "No," He said hesitantly, "I'm glad you're here." He put his arms around her as well, to show that he was accepting her being there. He felt shocked, relived, safe, tired, and in a way...happy, all at the same time. A feeling of security and comfort swept over him as Starfire continued to hold him in the intimate way she was. It was enough to make him not want to let go...to never move onto another moment. 'But then...how could anything ever happen? Bad or good.' Robin gently released Starfire as she gently loosened her grip around him, slowly letting go.  
  
"Are you going to be alright, Robin?" Starfire asked, looking into his glassy, tear-stained eyes.  
  
"Yeah," Robin said quietly, looking to the side slightly. He didn't bother to wipe the tears from his eyes, he didn't mind her seeing him cry as much as he would have minded any of the other Teen Titans. After a few moments of Starfire looking at Robin and studying his face, Robin stood up and turned away, towards the Titan Tower. Starfire rose too, but just looked at him with his back turned to her.  
  
"You should get some rest, Star..." Robin said after a long moment of silence, "All these nights that you haven't been able to sleep...or that you've spent with me, they're probably taking a toll on your body."  
  
"I could say the same for you," Starfire said quietly.  
  
Robin looked around, "Huh?" He had a confused look on his face.  
  
"You haven't had a complete, undisturbed, restful night's sleep since you got sick. I've watched you leave your room every night before I go to bed. You sit in the living room for hours, thinking up plans for future missions, cleaning and repairing your equipment—some of which doesn't need to be cleaned or repaired anymore—or just sitting there, thinking about stuff. That's why I worry so much about you. Usually, you have no problem sleeping at night...and your calculations are accurate, but you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a long time. What's more, you miscalculated about a foot on our last mission. That was enough to hurl you over the side of a building. It makes me worry what might happen if you miscalculated something by that much, again. I mean...what if—"  
  
"Star," Robin interrupted heavily. His voice was serious, "Listen. I missed that ledge because my body wasn't ready to jump the way I wanted it to. I had been out of training for so long...that my muscles weren't trained to calculate the distance anymore. And as for the lost nights of sleep," Robin explained, "I've learned to work around them. I just get what little sleep I can and work the rest of the time. One of these days, I'll be so tired that I will get a complete, restful night's sleep. You don't need to worry about me."  
  
Robin saw the first gray light coming over the horizon as he turned around again to look at the Titan Tower. He suddenly felt Starfire's hands close around his waist, with her head resting on his shoulder. He blushed at this and leaned his own head gently against hers. He closed his eyes, feeling content that he was near her. He felt every muscle in his body relax as he gently leaned back, against her. She did the same by leaning forward. They knew that if they didn't return to the Titan Tower soon, the other Teen Titans might get suspicious of something. For some reason this idea sounded rather funny to Robin, making a white-toothed grin come over his face. Starfire's head moved slightly.  
  
"What are you grinning about?" She asked softly but teasingly.  
  
Robin involuntarily started chuckling. Slowly, he opened his eyes straightening his neck, as he leaned forward into a stable standing position again.  
  
"What?" Starfire asked with a confused kind of humor in her voice.  
  
Robin shook his head, "Nothing. I was just thinking what the other Teen Titans would say if they saw us like that," He chuckled slightly again. Starfire broke into a giggle and walked forward to stand next to Robin.  
  
"Yes, that would be jocular to hear," Starfire said, nodding her head in agreement.  
  
"Come on. Lets get back before they think we're doing something," Robin said with a smile on his face.

* * *

Beast Boy was up early making his favorite breakfast, tofu waffles. Raven was in the living room reading a book when Robin and Starfire came in the door to the Teen Titans Tower. Each were in there most casual cloths, not their Teen Titan clothes. They were also laughing and talking with each other, which seemed rather unnatural, considering how they acted around each other lately.  
  
"Look who's back," Raven said, not looking up from her book.  
  
"Sorry, Raven. We couldn't sleep," Robin explained.  
  
"Don't apologize," Raven said, turning the page of her book, "It looks as if you two are a bit happier now that you've spent an entire night together," Raven's sarcastic voice was not normal for her. It was obvious, however, that she didn't mean offense by her statement. Robin blushed. "We have a mission tonight. Someone is robbing jewelry shops," Raven said dryly  
  
Robin's joking face suddenly faded and became very serious. His hand, which had previously been in Starfire's, had let go and fallen to his side. He took a step forward, "How many people are we going to be dealing with?"  
  
Raven looked up, surprised that Robin was taking this much interest in something that he hadn't been too happy about hearing for days now, "I don't know. We didn't find much information on it."  
  
"I see," Robin said quietly, looking down at the floor. After a moment he spoke again, "I should get my equipment ready then. I'll see you both tonight."  
  
With that, he left Starfire and Raven staring after him in surprise. They didn't know what had suddenly triggered Robin's battle, controlling side to make an appearance, but it felt in a way different than it had before. It was as if Robin had just noticed the world around him and was going to try to take back a part of himself that he had left behind long ago. The sun set and a dark sky blanketed the city, as the Teen Titans prepared for there mission. 


	3. Losing Humor

_Teen Titans – Heart's Word  
  
Disclaimer: If you don't know it already, yeah...I know I should have put this in the first chapter, but deal with it! Anyway, don't own Teen Titans or anything about them. The only things that are rightfully mine are the things made up in my imagination.  
  
Losing Humor –  
  
A/N: I thought this was an appropriate title for this chapter considering what happens in it. This chapter focuses more on Beast Boy and Raven than any of the other chapters. This will also be the last chapter written in this Teen Titans fan fic. It was a short sequel, true, but I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it._  
  
Robin was going a good 50 mph. on his motorcycle with Cyborg tailing him in the car, which also held Beast Boy. Raven and Starfire were flying overhead, barely able to keep at his speed. They were tailing four jewel thieves, all of which seemed to not be entirely human. Robin fiddled with his Titan communicator until he got it to transmit to the other Teen Titans, "Alright," He said, never taking his eyes off the thieves that were running from them, or the road, "Listen up. Cyborg, you take Trigo, Raven and Beast Boy, you two will take Amith. Starfire..." he hesitated for just a small moment, but it was enough to tell all the Teen Titans that he was uneasy about sending Starfire into battle without his help. He shook it off and continued, "you'll be taking Gourt, and I'll take Rickson. Everyone got that?"  
  
There was a chorus of "Yes" answers. "Alright then, lets go." He slowed down his motorcycle just as the jewel thieves took flight, landing on the roof of a nearby building. Robin's motorcycle came to a stop. He put it in park as he reached for one of his wires to pull him up the side of the building. Cyborg had stopped the car he was driving and made his way down the alleyway to the only criminal who could not fly. Beast Boy turned into a hawk and flew to the top of the building with Raven and Starfire, while Robin swiftly scaled the side of the building. When Robin was halfway there, however, Starfire refused to make him scale the rest of the way. She sailed back down to his level from the top and gently took him in her arms, lifting him over the top of the building. Robin was blushing very hard by the time they got to the top. When Starfire had firmly set Robin on his feet, she let go of him and faced Gourt.  
  
Wasting no more time, Robin faced his opponent. He took out a sharp, circular, ninja-like weapon. Then running forward, he threw it. It hit the thief's wings, making it hard for him to fly. Then with a leap in the air, Robin landed a kick on Rickson—a rather built person with longer-than- normal brown hair—sending him to the ground.  
  
Nearby, Starfire was throwing star bolts at Gourt—a thin teenage boy with brown highlighted hair, who seemed to fancy his fast speed more than his skill with anything. Starfire's star bolts kept hitting the building rather than him, making her irritation build. Her frustration was starting to get to her when Gourt dodged yet another set of her star bolts. Starfire threw a star bolt in the opposite direction, just as she launched herself in the air, landing a fast twist-kick on the boy. This was enough to stop him momentarily from moving. Starfire threw a stream of star bolts at him, causing a lot of dust to suddenly cloud her vision.  
  
Next to this, Beast Boy and Raven were putting a number on Amith—a woman of her early twenties, with a muscular body and purple and blue dyed hair that was elegantly wrapped in a pinned knot at the back of her head. Her wings were a navy blue, surprisingly enough. They blended perfectly with the other two male criminal's wings that were a true black color. She wore a two-slit dress, which struck Raven and Beast Boy as odd, considering she had just been robbing jewelry stores. Raven had been throwing pieces of cement at her, coming from the building. Beast Boy had turned into a cheetah and was charging and biting at her. Besides her exotic look, she had seemed actually pretty harmless. So far, she had barely put up a fight at all, making all of Raven's and Beast Boy's attacks hit dead center. One in particular, knocked the young woman off her feet and created a rather large cloud of pink smoke.  
  
Bellow all this, Cyborg wasn't having much trouble with fighting Trigo—a man of no more than nineteen years old. He was a lean, dark-skinned man with black hair that fell in braids to his shoulders. Cyborg ran forward, having his hand meet with Trigo's jaw. This sent Trigo flying backwards and landing against some cardboard boxes. Cyborg could see that he had knocked him out. "Done here, Robin," Cyborg said into his com. There was silence for a moment before he heard a screeching of something metal hitting cement and the flapping of wings from the other end. Finally, a breathless voice came onto the com, "Good work...We all should all be done in good time." Cyborg was about to ask why Robin sounded like he was really struggling with his opponent, when he heard another flapping of wings and a strangled "Whoa!" No doubt, from Robin. The com went off on Robin's end at that moment, leaving Cyborg standing silently in question. He wondered what it was, exactly, that Robin was fighting.  
  
Robin had taken to throwing electric disks at Rickson. Unfortunately, this had only succeeded in angering the black winged man. He was currently dodging the wings of his opponent as they tried to close in around him. Rickson was holding what Robin could only guess to be some sort of jeweled knife. He wanted nothing to do with the weapon in the man's hand, so he decided to keep a safe distance from Rickson until he could find a way to defeat him. Suddenly, the wings extended and closed in around him. Fear struck him, not really knowing what to do. Without thinking, he took a fist full of his tiny, sharp, circular weapons, throwing them at Rickson. Using this as a diversion, Robin gathered himself and leapt in the air, shifting all his weight to his leg as it came down on Rickson. This succeeded in giving Rickson a major blow to the head. Rickson's wings flopped, his eyes closed, and he fell backwards to the cement roof in a limp fashion.  
  
Starfire, was once again having trouble with her opponent. He had gotten back up very quickly after she had knocked him down earlier. He was light on his feet and fast in the air. His black-feathered wings had a tendency to throw a lot of dust in her face whenever she would just about have him pinned down. When Gourt had thrust a wing in her face to catch her off guard, she had fallen backwards to avoid getting injured. It was then that her star bolts became more powerful then before. She threw row after row of star bolts in the whole vicinity of where he was. Then, seeing that at least a few had hit him, causing him to stand still for just a moment, she picked herself up and launched herself forward, her leg extended. Her kick landed hard, knocking him out cold. Satisfied, she turned her attention to Raven and Beast Boy, who's opponent was not nearly as puny as she had previously seemed.  
  
Amith was throwing out moves at them that even surprised Raven. so far, Beast Boy had been thrown down to the cement roof four times and Raven had been thrown into a pile of crates. Beast Boy had turned into a wolf and was charging with teeth bared, at the woman. Raven was going to throw a giant chunk of cement at her while he did this to distract her. The only problem was, when the time came to put the plan into motion, Amith closed her wings around her, repelling the cement. If that wasn't bad enough, a dagger appeared in her hand just as Beast Boy got to her. She ran it swiftly and cleanly across his side and into his flesh, making him yelp in pain. With a swift stroke of one of her wings, she pushed him off the edge of the building. Before he fell, though, he changed back into Beast Boy, and the sight of him bleeding through the huge gash in his side while being pushed over the edge of a building triggered something inside Raven that she could not remember feeling before. Without thinking at all, she took off after Beast Boy, fear and anger had leapt in her heart, making her fly that much fast. Beast Boy was more than half way down from the building when Raven caught him.  
  
Robin and Starfire had taken over fighting Amith. It was useless, however, every kick that Robin landed and every star bolt that Starfire threw at her, were repelled by her navy-blue wings. Robin threw a bunch of his energy charged weapons at Amith, in an effort to injure her wings just a little bit so that she wouldn't be able to repel their attacks so easily. She opened her wings just long enough to throw a vile of something in their direction before closing her wings to repel Robin's electrically charged weapons. One of them shattered the vile of what ever it was that she threw at them. It didn't seem to have any affect on Starfire, but Robin started coughing so violently that he fell to his hands and knees. His lungs burned and he could feel sweat breaking out over his entire body. Starfire would have gone over to him the moment it happened, except for the fact that Amith was still attacking her. "What was that?" Starfire demanded as she dodged a wing.  
  
"That," Amith said through a smirk, "was a vile of a modified flu virus. He'll be lucky if he's only down for a week." She thrust another wing at Starfire, knocking the girl off balance.  
  
Starfire was too horror struck to say or do anything at first in response to what she had just heard. She knew that Robin—even with the healing power that was transferred between her and him whenever they kissed—could not stand up to much more illness. He had just gotten over a particularly deadly case of dust pneumonia. She was too worried about what this added strain to his already battered immune system might mean for him. It was then, however, that Raven appeared with Beast Boy laying in her arms. Her cloak had turned a deep red color, telling Starfire that Raven was very angry.  
  
Raven set Beast Boy down on a safe part of the roof before joining Starfire. Anger, now radiating from both Starfire and Raven with such intensity that you wold have almost been able to see it. Without realizing it, Raven had picked up a huge chunk of cement pelting it at Amith, at the same time Starfire had pelted an entire line of star bolts at the woman. The result was less than amazing. The star bolts mingled with Raven's magic and the pieces of cement, making the whole thing powerful enough to break through Amith's defenses, leaving her unconscious. Raven magically bound the woman, her cloak still glowing a vivid red color.

* * *

When Starfire's eyes were still glowing green and Raven's cloak was still a very angry red color as they descended from the top of the building, Cyborg could tell something was _**very**_ wrong. The other thing that alerted him, was the fact that Raven was carrying Beast Boy and Starfire was carrying Robin. Now, Cyborg would have passed off Starfire carrying Robin as normal, had she not been carrying him with one arm under his back and the other under his knees. This was the same way that Raven was carrying Beast Boy.  
  
This became very unnerving to Cyborg as they reached the ground. Cyborg didn't have to be told what they wanted him to do. By the look on their faces, he already knew. He picked up his com, pressed a button on it to call the police, then walked back to where Robin's motorcycle was, attaching it to the car. He got in the driver's seat of the car just as Starfire and Raven got in the other sides of the car, careful of how they were positioning Beast Boy and Robin.

* * *

When they arrived at the Titan Tower, Raven and Starfire got to work right away. They carried Beast Boy and Robin up to each of the boys' rooms with the occasional help of Cyborg. When both Robin and Beast Boy were laying on their own bed, Raven and Starfire went scavenging around the house for the things they needed to help the people so dear to them. The two girls were constantly crossing each other's path to get what they needed: bowls of water, cloth, bandages, medical tape, medicine, and various other items.  
  
After Starfire gave Robin some medicine, she gently took his hand in hers. True, Robin had been sick before, but never so often and so harshly. He had barely gotten over the dust pneumonia before this struck him down. She wasn't entirely sure that he could get over another disease right after something that strong, but she couldn't tell one way or the other right now. She guessed that even though he was currently asleep, he was not well at all. The fact that he had passed out on the rooftop was enough to worry her greatly. Starfire sat by him, feeling completely helpless. She knew that she couldn't help him anymore than she already had in the past. He was going to have to find a way to pull through on his own. She brushed a few strands of sweaty hair out of his eyes. In a way, he seemed so peaceful laying there, but she didn't want him to look peaceful, no matter how selfish that seemed. She wanted him to be talking and laughing with her. She wanted for him to wake up, to look at her and ask why she was sitting there, to tell her that he felt fine, but she knew that wouldn't happen for a while. _**Besides, why was she worrying, anyway? He would be fine in a week or two...right?  
**_  
Starfire couldn't make herself agree. She wasn't sure if his immune system was strong enough to fend off a new disease so close to the other one. She should have never let Robin fight Amith on the roof top, no matter what it took, but how could she have known that Amith was waiting to use something like this on her and Robin? True, her immune system was too advanced to be affected by the virus—modified or not—but she knew better than to think the same about Robin.  
  
Cyborg watched Starfire from the hall, she looked very worried. He shifted his gaze to Beast Boy's room, which Raven was still at work in. She had completely discarded Beast Boy's shirt, using a certain medical tape in the place of stitches. She had cleaned the wound and mostly stopped the bleeding. She couldn't tell exactly how deep the wound was, but it didn't seem to have damaged any internal organs. Even so, she was sure that he had at least three broken ribs. She was still bandaging Beast Boy's wounds with an unnaturally gentle touch, for Raven. Raven's cloak had gotten rid of its blazing angry red color, and had resorted to shifting from a sorrowful gray to an all feeling white.  
  
Raven hadn't been sure, even now, why she had reacted the way she did on the rooftop. She still wasn't sure why she cared so much about what happened to Beast Boy. After all, she and him had never been what anyone would call _**'really close.'**_ It wasn't just that he was injured that bothered her so. There was a kind of rage that had taken over her at his injury. What set this off in her mind, she couldn't be certain, but something about their enemy injuring him had made her very angry. Something had happened on that rooftop, whether she was willing to admit to it or not. She had been more scared than she could ever remember feeling. _**But why? It was not her life that was in danger, why had she been so terrified about someone else losing their life? Sure, he was someone she knew, someone she heard and saw on a daily bases...but...what made her so terrified about losing him?**_ She knew that she would have perhaps not felt at all happy about losing someone like Robin, Cyborg, or Starfire...but with Beast Boy...she had been truly afraid to lose him. **_What made him any different than any of the others?_** These thoughts swam in her mind, chasing each other over and over again through her head. She didn't have an answer to any of them. The thing that made her the most uneasy, however, was not all these questions. It was the fact that she was still worried about Beast Boy. **_What was he to her that no one else was? And why?  
_**  
Raven circled the bandage around Beast Boy's waist for the last time, tying it at the end. She had never been much of a nurse, so she hoped that her attempt to bandage Beast Boy had at least halfway served its purpose. Raven picked up the bowl of water that had turned red with the blood from Beast Boy's wound. She slowly made her way to the bathroom sink, dumping it down the drain. She recoiled slightly at the smell and look of the blood colored water as it went down the drain. Silently, she washed the bowl out thoroughly with dish soap before filling it with cool, clean water once again.  
  
Setting it back on his nightstand, where a plate of mostly-eaten, two-day- old tofu and a half-drunk glass of outdated vegetable juice still were, she sat down in an overstuffed chair that she had dragged next to his bedside. She suspected that this kind of disorder was what Beast Boy considered normal. Compared to her almost empty room, Beast Boy's room was completely packed with nothing other than useless junk. It felt both repelling and inviting to Raven, putting her somewhere in neutral.  
  
It was dark outside and she could hear the rain pattering against the windows in rage. Rage at two good, young men getting ill and injured by a woman so evil. Rage at the horrible nature mankind was able to harbor. Suddenly the lights went out, leaving the Titan Tower completely dark and still. Raven waited uneasily in the dark, remaining still. There was something that felt lonely and spooky about this kind of darkness. There were no comments from Robin and no panicky remarks from Starfire or Beast Boy. Within, a few seconds, however, Cyborg was shinning a light at her from the hallway.  
  
He walked in and gave her a flashlight, "Here, you might need this." Raven nodded, turning back to Beast Boy. Turning back to the hallway, Cyborg made his way out of Beast Boy's room and started in the direction of Robin's room. When he walked into Robin's room, however, he found Starfire slumped back in her chair with her eyes closed and a hand reached out towards Robin's hand. Cyborg took another step inside the door to get a better view of Starfire. She looked just as exhausted as Robin did. Robin had been out cold for over two hours now, and Starfire had been in his room for every second of them, never leaving Robin's side.  
  
Cyborg had guessed that there was a much deeper bond between Robin and Starfire than any of them knew, but perhaps they would find out someday. He secretly wondered if any of them would truly be back to the way they were before the mansion collapsed. Cyborg shifted his gaze to Robin. The young man that he had considered his friend for so many years truly looked like death warmed over. Robin's skin was white, his hair was matted to his forehead due to all the sweat his body was giving off, and Cyborg could bet, if he touched Robin, he would have gotten a very warm palm. He shook his head and made his way out of the room, silently.

* * *

It was a good three days before Robin gained consciousness again. Starfire had resorted to making large bowls of "pudding of sadness" as her next to only source of food while Robin had been unconscious. She had barely ever left his side at all during the three days, but when he finally awoke, she refused to leave his side at all. Robin hadn't been very well looking when he had finally come to, but at least he was awake. He had insisted that he was fine; that he was just going through a routine cold, but Starfire knew better. She hadn't let him get out of bed accept for the essential needs that required his absence from the room.  
  
In Beast Boy's room, he had woken up the next day, after his run in with Amith's knife. Raven hadn't left his side either. Her excuse for this was simple; Cyborg had volunteered to do all the house work while Robin and Beast Boy were ill and injured. In return, Raven and Starfire had told him they would watch over Robin and Beast Boy. So, it seemed only fair that she would hold up her end of the bargain. What Beast Boy didn't know, however, was that Raven and Cyborg had come up with the idea together, and that Cyborg had only agreed because her cloak was shifting from gray to white the entire conversation, indicating her unhappiness about Beast Boy's injury.  
  
Other than the recovery of Robin and Beast Boy, the days passed by uneventfully. It was at this time that Raven and Beast Boy discovered a little more than friendship between them. It wasn't something that either had really tried very hard to happen, it just happened. Eventually, the Teen Titans went back to fighting crime in there small part of the world. Robin and Starfire continued getting closer as time passed. So where did this leave Cyborg? He found a girl too. He fell in love with a girl that he met at the ball in the mansion. It turned out that she had a super power of her own, as well. So the superhuman of the machine element and the superhuman of the fire element came together to form an adorable couple as well. 


End file.
